Maryland Basketball: Terps return to AP and Coaches Top 25

By Christopher Church | Jan 16, 2017

Jan 10, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble (2) shoots in between Indiana Hoosiers forward De'Ron Davis (20) and forward Juwan Morgan (13) during the first half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

Maryland basketball improved to 16-2 on the season this past weekend earning them a spot in both the AP and Coaches Top 25.

Maryland basketball bounces back and lands at No.25 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll after a pair of wins last week at home against Indiana and Saturday on the road versus Illinois.

The Maryland Terrapins made their return to the AP Top 25 Poll after a 9-week absence from the as they continually floated throughout the receiving votes.

In the Week 11 AP Top 25 Poll, 18 of the 64 AP voters had Maryland not ranked and 14 voters put the Terps at No.25 according to CollegePollTracker.com. Maryland’s highest ranked vote came from The Roanoke Times’ Doug Doughty, submitting the Terps at No.14. Other high-ranked votes include No. 18 by WBIR’s Sports Reporter Patrick Murray and a No. 20 from 97.5 FM KZNS’ Tony Parks.

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Maryland basketball was a Nebraska win away from entering the Top 25, but 14-point collapse set the Terps back a bit. Since the devastating loss, the Terps have won three-straight games including two road wins against Michigan and Illinois.

The five teams ahead of Maryland in the AP Poll starting with No. 20 Cincinnati, No. 21 Florida, No. 22 Purdue, No. 23 Saint Mary’s, and No. 24 South Carolina. Let’s compare resumes between Maryland and the five teams ahead of them.

Beginning with South Carolina, who have a 14-3 overall record and undefeated in SEC play, won both of their games last week against Tennessee and Ole Miss and is the second team with Maryland to be in the Top 25 after not being ranked the previous week. South Carolina faces an extremely ahead of them with games against No. 19 Florida and a road contest with No. 5 Kentucky.

Next, Saint Mary’s is coming off a loss to No. 4 Gonzaga, so it’s understandable that they only fell two spots from the No. 21 ranking last week. The Gaels are a solid 15-2 overall with notable wins against the Dayton Flyers and the Moutain West’s first place Nevada Wolf Pack.

Coming in at No.23, Maryland’s Big Ten foes, the Purdue Boilermakers are 14-4 on the season, including signature wins over Notre Dame and Wisconsin. However, Purdue is just 2-3 against top 50 teams with losses against Villanova, Louisville, and Minnesota. Purdue is also coming off a disastrous loss against Iowa in their lone game last week, making the case that Purdue’s current No. 23 spot may be a bit high.

The No. 21 Florida Gators is just 4-3 against the top 50 with losses to Gonzaga, Duke, and Florida State and the Gators remain undefeated in SEC play. Lastly, Cincinnati is 15-2 overall this season and like Maryland is 2-2 against the top 50, coming off a win against SMU last week.

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With just one game this week which features a winnable road game against Iowa, Maryland will likely move up a few spots when the new polls come out a week from today.

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